Did you know?

Parkinson’s is an incurable, degenerative condition which can affect anyone but despite that research released by Parkinson’s UK on the 10th April reveals that:

Almost half (48%) of people are unsure, or wrongly say that it is possible to prevent Parkinson’s.

Four in five (83%) are unsure, or incorrectly think that there is no limit to the amount of time Parkinson’s medication works for.

Two in three (65%) wrongly believe that Parkinson’s medication does more than mask or ease the symptoms of the condition.

Parkinson’s affects almost every area of a person’s life with a range of physical and ‘hidden’ symptoms including tremor, pain, sleep and mental health problems. The research highlights the lack of public understanding of the day to day reality of living with the condition, with only a minority of people associating Parkinson’s with:

bladder or bowel problems (17%)

anxiety (40%)

sleep problems, including insomnia and nightmares (30%)

Commenting on the launch of the charity’s first public fundraising campaign, Katherine Crawford, Scotland Director of Parkinson’s UK said: “200 years after the condition was first identified, people with Parkinson’s in Scotland are still waiting for an effective treatment that tackles the condition head on.

“It’s been more than fifty years since the last major drug breakthrough but Parkinson’s can still leave people struggling to do the simple things that most of us take for granted. That’s just not good enough for the 11,000 people in Scotland with the condition, so today we say we won’t wait any longer. That’s why Parkinson’s UK is harnessing the expertise of the research community and the support of those living with Parkinson’s to spearhead a new drive to deliver better treatments and a cure faster.

“But we can’t do this alone. That’s why we’re urgently asking people to donate whatever they can to support our vital research. We won’t stand by and let Parkinson’s treatments fall further behind.”

To find out more about the We Won’t Wait campaign visit wewontwait.parkinsons.org.uk